Behavior Analyst Responds: how dad handles a scary accident

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]Yes, Alden.

[00:00:05]You're warning the passengers before.

[00:00:09]You okay, Mom?

[00:00:11]You okay?

[00:00:13]What What did you hit your body on?

[00:00:15]It's stuck on the street.

[00:00:26]Hey, stay in your seat.

[00:00:28]I'm going to sit on top of it.

[00:00:38]There's nothing to smile about right now, buddy.

[00:00:41]Mom just really got hurt. She might have to go to the hospital.

[00:00:44]I'm getting an X-ray to see if her bone One of her bones is broken.

[00:00:48]You guys keep leaving toys on the sidewalk in front where everyone walks.

[00:00:52]And we tell you over and over and over again not to do that.

[00:00:57]I need you guys to understand that when I tell you not to do things, it's because I know that something like that can happen. One of my followers just sent me this video and I was shook at how well the dad responded. He was calm, he was clear, he did not yell, and he made his point. Now, I want to help get everybody to the next step so that this skill of our kids cleaning up actually works. My name is Jen Mazulla and I'm a board-certified behavior analyst teacher and mom of two girls.

[00:01:21]Let's get into it. Number one, we want to practice this skill outside of the moment. So, we want to clearly go over our expectations, model the behavior that we expect to see, and have our kids show us that behavior as well, and provide them with reinforcement or feedback. Simultaneously, we also want to let our kids know what are the consequences now for leaving your things outside because obviously somebody just got hurt. And when we can communicate those consequences ahead of time, we can actually make sure that they are fair and let them do the talking for us. So, here's what that would sound like. Kids, when you're finished playing with your toys, I expect you to put them away. What do I expect you to do when you're finished playing with your toys? And your kids might be like, "Oh, Dad, I know what to do." We're not getting pulled into that back and forth. Again, we're waiting for them to answer. What do I expect you to do, Johnny, when you're done playing with your toys? Your child finally says, >> [sighs] >> "I have to put them away." And we say, "That's right, Johnny. I expect you to put your toys away. And when you put your toys away, you can continue having access to those privileges. You get to use your skateboard. But if we don't put our toys away, we lose access to that skateboard." And let your child know for how many days. And now you actually want to practice this skill. Show Johnny exactly where you want him to put the skateboard. Have Johnny put the skateboard away. Have him show you. And then we reinforce him for doing so. And this is the key in all of this. When our kids only get a majority of our attention when they don't do the thing we ask them to, then that's usually the behavior that we tend to see more of.

[00:02:44]But when we can start noticing those ordinary everyday moments that our kids actually follow the expectation that we set, then those are the behaviors that we begin to see more often. I hope this helps. And once again, I just want to say, "Well done, Dad. This was remarkable."